The Perfect Candidate (26 page)

His
baby
…
?

Michael had always wanted children, but they had always been something he had promised himself
‘
one day
’
and in recent years that day had looked like it would never come.  He had accepted that
.

“Did you want something?” Ashley asked, smiling at him.  She had finished her telephone conversation and Michael hadn’
t even noticed.

“I-”
What did he want?
 
“
I
…
wondered if you felt like having lunch together,
”
he murmured.  Should he confront Ashley with what he had seen or should he wait for her to mention it?  He wasn
’
t sure that he could handle the conversation at the moment.  He felt completely knocked for a loop.

“Are you feeling okay?” Ashley frowned, staring at him anxiously.  “You look a little pale.  You aren’
t coming down with something are you?
”

Michael shook his head. 
“
I
’
m fine,
”
he said automatically. 
“
A bit tired I guess,
”
he shrugged, when Ashley cocked a disbelieving eyebrow in his direction.  She gave her head a sympathetic nod.

“You have to pace yourself, Michael.  You don’
t want to burn out!  Where would the campaign be then?
”
she asked gently.

Oh God
, the campaign!

Michael rubbed a hand over his face.  If Ashley was pregnant then his dreams of becoming President were ruined. 
No one
was going to elect a man who had knocked up his girlfriend! 

But they might if she was his wife
…
he had to get the wedding pushed forward!

“Michael?  Michael!” Ashley’
s worried voice sliced through Michael
’
s thoughts and dragged him back to the office.

“Sorry,” he apologized, smiling weakly.  “Must have zoned out for a minute.”

“Hrm,” Ashley murmured, looking at his closely.  “Are you sure you’
re not sick?
”
she demanded.  She licked her lips. 
“
I was feeling a little under the weather this morning. Maybe there
’
s something going around?
”
she said, sounding almost
…
hopeful?

“I haven’
t heard of anything,
”
Michael said slowly.  He tried to collect himself. 
“
You were feeling unwell this morning?
”
he asked gently, not sure if he was ready for her to elucidate yet or not.

“Yes, but it passed,” Ashley said curtly.  “I think you said something about lunch?” she asked, changing the subject so abruptly that Michael couldn’
t fail to notice what she was doing, especially when he knew
why
she was doing it?

Michael nodded, and somehow he found himself taking Ashley out to lunch.  He didn
’
t remember how they decided where they were going, or even how they got there!  He simply found himself sitting opposite Ashley, looking over a lunch menu at his favorite café and wondering if he could actually stomach any of the food if he ordered.

“You really don’
t look well, Michael,
”
Ashley said softly.  She was watching him from across the table, and looking troubled and anxious.

Michael contemplated saying something to Ashley about what he suspected.  She had to be worried too if she thought that she was pregnant!  Evidently she was just doing a better job of hiding it.

“I’
m fine,
”
he muttered quietly, and immediately went back to brooding.  Ashley sighed and excused herself to use the bathroom, and so Michael was given a few minutes alone to dwell on his thoughts.

He thoughts were just so overwhelming!  Michael had realized something though. Among the horror and the worry,there was a very small, very delicate little bubble of excitement.  He imagined that if he nurtured it and allowed it to take hold it would grow until that was his dominant feeling towards Ashley
’
s pregnancy
.

He
had
always wanted children, and Ashley seemed like the kind of woman who would be an excellent mother.  Michael actually managed to summon a smile when he thought about Ashley totting a little baby around on her hip-
his
baby, something primitive and masculine inside him approved of that image very strongly. Besides, if the voters wanted a First Lady, surely a whole family would be even better?

He would have to marry her, of course.  Michael
’
s smile grew.  He couldn
’
t help himself.  There was something that struck him as hugely satisfying about
having
to marry Miss Kendall.  He liked her, a lot, he lusted after her around the clock, and now she was carrying his baby
…
what other woman would make half such a suitable wife
…
and First Lady?

Michael wasn
’
t ready to give up his presidential dreams just yet.  He just had to get Ashley down the aisle as soon as possible, before there was any speculation about her condition.  Once they were married no one would care about a seven or eight-month pregnancy. They could spin some story about the baby being premature.

“You look a little more cheerful?” Ashley remarked, as she returned to the table.  She sat down, watching him curiously.

“I am.  I’
ve reached a decision,
”
Michael said cryptically.  He leant back in his chair and pressed his fingers together thoughtfully.

“Oh?  That’
s
…
good?
”
Ashley frowned. 
“
A decision about the campaign?
”
she asked.

“In a way…” Michael nodded, speaking slowly.  It was probably better if he didn’
t mention anything to Ashley about pushing the wedding forwards just yet; he was bound to phrase it wrong
…
and maybe then she would refuse?  Something that almost felt like panic gripped him
.

He couldn
’
t let her think he was only marrying her because of the baby.  Women got so silly about practical reasons like that. He would have to convince her that it was for the good of the campaign to move their wedding forward, and then, once things were under way for their
‘
sham
’
wedding, it would be easier to convince her that they had to marry. At least, he hoped that was the case!

22

Negative
.  It was negative. 

She wasn
’
t pregnant. 

Ashley sat down on the edge of her bed, stared blankly at the pregnancy test in her hand and tried to summon up the relief that she
knew
she should be feeling
…

“This is
good
,
”
she said aloud, as though she was attempting to convince herself.  She was upset to realize that this was exactly what she
was
doing
…
just what was
wrong
with her?  Ashley looked up and stared in disgust at her reflect in the mirror on the dressing table.

If she had been pregnant it would have been a disaster- there was no two ways about it- wanting to have a baby with a man she didn
’
t even have a real relationship with was just idiotic. 

Not to mention the whole president angle! 

Ashley winced when she thought about that. Michael would have
killed
her if she had been pregnant.  At the very least Norm was sure to have made her kill the baby.  Ashley couldn
’
t stop herself laying a protective hand over her flat stomach, as though this baby was something more than a figment of her imagination.

“I’
ve got to be more careful,
”
she murmured, resolving to make an appointment with her doctor the very next morning.  It seemed that Michael wasn
’
t exactly the careful type so it would be down to her to make sure that there weren
’
t any more little scares. That was what was for the best after all.

Sighing, Ashley threw away the test and its box.  She had been so sure of what she was going to find!

She was hardly past her prime, but still, she didn
’
t have
years
to dally if she wanted to raise a little family of her own. Perhaps she had secretly seen Michael as a solution to that problem?  Not wittingly of course!  Maybe, subconsciously there was something in that theory? 

Ashley chewed her lip anxiously.  When a woman was thinking about her baby
’
s genes she could do a lot worse than Michael Reese that was for sure.  As if on cue, the telephone started to ring, and when Ashley reached across to her beside table to grab the receiver she saw Michael
’
s number flash up on the screen.

“Hello?  Michael?”

“Yeah.  Hi, Ash.  I thought I’
d phone to see how you
’
re doing.  So, how
are
you doing?
”

Michael
’
s deep, rich voice drifted down the line and Ashley
’
s toes curled into the carpet as it caressed her ear.  It took a second for his question to sink in, but when it did, it brought a puzzled little frown to her brow.